LOS ANGELES —- Clayton Kershaw was brilliant in his World Series debut, striking out 11, and was backed by the power of the NLCS co-MVPs in the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the Astros in Game 1 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
The Astros offense had the fewest strikeouts in baseball during the regular season, 18.7% less than the major league average. But Kershaw carved them up, needing only 83 pitches to get through his seven hits innings.
His 11 strikeouts were the most by any pitcher against the Astros this season, and just the third double-digit K performance against them in 2017.